7. Chalet Mollard

More guests arrived on Sunday to occupy our other chalet. This is the one I prefer but is a pain to clean and has developed its own repertoire of problems. 48 hours before arrival the door of the replacement oven broke; the first wouldn’t stay closed and stopped heating, so we were provided with a third oven to clean (having given the one in Loft a lick ‘n’ polish) and possibly, now a fourth, but Roger seems to have mended it with the help of some heat-resistant (hopefully) super-glue.

Friday found me cleaning the outside of the windows on the sheltered side of the chalet which protected me from the falling snow, obscuring the view of the women’s slalom and giant slalom World Cup in 1850, I noticed a consistent drip which hadn’t been there when I started my buffing. Melting snow wouldn’t be a concern but this was right below the hot tub whose jets I had just started to circulate the chemicals added to maintain chlorine and pH levels! An emergency appeal brought the ever-versatile Max to the rescue who discovered and repaired a fairly significant leak from the under-board pipes. Unfortunately his salvage didn’t extend to the water quality which still didn’t attain the required standard despite the recommended addition of ‘shock’ and chlorine. ‘To be reviewed tomorrow.’

We interrupted preparation to go to the second run of the women’s slalom world cup on Saturday and watched the top 28 competitors hurtle themselves down the slope, twisting and contorting round the alternating red and blue gates. An American won but Sweden must have had the highest representation in this elite bunch. The weather cleared a little, as the photos hopefully show, but the sun stayed hidden behind high cloud.

We’re having a few (more) technical problems with the website so there may be a dearth of photos but hope to be able to upload a few each time. Alternatively, they don’t seem to go where I want them to!

Mollard was ready for inspection by 12 noon on Sunday, in advance of our incomers and we were visited by our supervisor who didn’t seem concerned, again, about checking our work. The guests’ arrival was delayed by half an hour in which time I discovered that neither of us had cleaned a rather grubby freezer. Perhaps her confidence was misplaced but at least it was cleaned by the time 4 delightful young people arrived. Mum and Dad and little sister were due later, but we don’t have to stay for further arrivals. These guys seemed to like the chalet and hopefully appreciated our efforts, particularly with the hot tub which is proving rather obstinate. It is a shame if it doesn’t function properly as it is set on a small balcony under the eaves off one of the upstairs bedrooms, surrounded by a string of fairy lights (top left in first photo.) Not very wide across, it is quite deep and takes four people sitting comfortably in the warm whooshing water admiring a view down the valley from the shelter of the roof. Shame we wont get a chance to test it!